‘How I feed my family for 50 cents a serve'

For many Australian families, getting the weekly supermarket bill down to $227 would probably be considered an achievement.

So how would you manage if you had to spend that amount on groceries just once every five weeks?

Penina Petersen insists it can be done. In fact, the mother-of-two says it’s possible to put dinner on the table for as little as $1.02 - and she’s written a book to prove it.

Image: Penina Petersen

Petersen has whittled affordable meal planning down to a fine art over the past 10 years. In 2008 she published her first guide,Table Tucker, containing 52 weeks worth of menus and shopping lists.

“I wrote that because I didn’t want to spend all my life in the kitchen when I could spend that time with my children,” she tells 9Honey.

The Frankston mum recalls one particular moment that spurred her into action: she bought a roast dinner at the supermarket for $24, only for it to shrink in the oven at home.

“I was like, ‘That is just ridiculous’ … That traditional food we used to enjoy is becoming unaffordable for the average Aussie,” she says.

Image: Supplied

“I don’t want to pay full price for something that’s half baked. I felt ripped off every time I went shopping.”

Petersen has since published her e-book $1.50 Dinners, which she recently revised. It's a lifestyle “system”, teaching people how to shop for and prepare weeks worth of healthy, affordable meals - breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks - and cut down on food wastage in the process.

The savings blogger - who has a 12-year-old son and a six-year-old daughter - walks the walk, too. She does her family grocery shop every five weeks, averaging $227 in Aldi prices (or closer to $250 at Coles or Woolies). Between visits, she tops up on fresh fruit and vegetables at local grocers.

Petersen says sticking to a list - and resisting the colourful lure of supermarket food marketing - is key to keeping shopping costs to a minimum.

Another thrifty mum shares her grocery shopping tips on TODAY.

“I think people are so busy these days they’re just blindly going to the shops... If you shop that way, it’s a lot of money. You’re going to be randomly grabbing stuff,” the former personal assistant says.

Once the shopping is done, she’ll spend a day preparing meals in bulk to be stored in the freezer and eaten on weeknights. Friday and Saturday nights are for cooking ‘fresh’, using leftover ingredients in the pantry and fridge.

“There are 458 serves in the book, averaging 50 cents a serve - or if you’re just doing the dinners, it’s $1.02,” Petersen explains.

Her dinner recipes include spinach and chicken curry, sweet potato patties, shepherd’s pie and beef mince tacos, each serving between four and six adults.

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Despite what her detractors believe, those serves are decent. “One of my trolls said, ‘This must be WWII rations, but we’re not in a war’. I’m like, ‘It’s really hearty food!’” Petersen says.

While the thought of eating out of the freezer most nights of the week mightn’t be appealing, Petersen says there are easy ways to “jazz up” her frozen meals before serving. Adding shredded lettuce or rocket or a spoonful of natural Greek yoghurt are her favourite tricks.

“It makes it a little tangy and feels a lot fresher,” she says.

As for snacks, Petersen says they’re the perfect way to use up those leftover veggies threatening to turn to sludge in the bottom of the fridge.

Image: Supplied

She will often spend an hour on a Sunday afternoon - glass of wine in hand - baking savoury muffins and zucchini loaf, along with sandwiches, to be popped in the freezer for her kids to take to school.

“So many people probably go, ‘She must have no life’,” Petersen laughs.